Lakeland, Florida

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 67.78.201.85 (talk) at 17:58, 5 September 2008 (→‎Notable Lakelanders). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Lakeland, Florida
City
Downtown Lakeland at night
Downtown Lakeland at night
Location in Polk County and the state of Florida
Location in Polk County and the state of Florida
Country United States
State Florida
County Polk
Settledc. 1875
Incorporated (city)1 January 1885
Government
 • TypeCommission-Manager
 • MayorRalph L. Fletcher
 • City ManagerDouglas B. Thomas
Area
[1]
 • City51.45 sq mi (133.3 km2)
 • Land45.84 sq mi (118.7 km2)
 • Water5.61 sq mi (14.5 km2)  10.9%
Elevation
197 ft (141 m)
Population
 (2006)[2]
 • City89,108
 • Density1,711/sq mi (660.8/km2)
 • Metro
561,606
 Census Bureau estimate
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code863
FIPS code12-38250Template:GR
GNIS feature ID0294459Template:GR
Websitehttp://www.lakelandgov.net/
A view of Lakeland's business district, early 1920s

Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 89,108.[2] Lakeland is the Principal City of the Lakeland, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 561,606 in July, 2006.[3]

History

Lakeland was first settled in the 1870s and began to develop as the rail lines reached the area in 1884. It was incorporated 1 January 1885. The town was founded by Abraham Munn (a resident of Louisville, Kentucky), who purchased 80 acres of land in what is now downtown Lakeland in 1882 and platted the land for the town in 1884. Among the names considered (and rejected) for the town by its residents were Munnville, Red Bug and Rome City.

The Florida boom resulted in the construction of many significant structures in Lakeland, a number of which are today listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes the Terrace Hotel, New Florida Hotel (Regency Towers), Polk Theatre, Promenade of Lake Mirror, Polk Museum of Art (not a product of the 20's boom), Park Trammell Building (formerly the Lakeland Public Library and today the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce), and others. The city also has several historic districts with many large buildings built during the 1920s and 1940s. The Cleveland Indians held spring training here from 1923 to 1927 at Henley Field Ball Park. Many new parks have been privately funded surrounding Lake Mirror. They are the Barnett Children's Park, Hollis Gardens, and the newest, Allen Kryger Park.

The "boom" period went "bust" quickly, and years passed before the city recovered. Part of the re-emergence was due to the arrival of the Detroit Tigers in 1934 for spring training. (The team continues to train at Lakeland's Joker Marchant Stadium and owns the city's Florida State League team, the Lakeland Flying Tigers.) The development of the Lakeland Municipal Airport as a major facility in central Florida transportation was another factor. The 1930’s also featured the arrival of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1938 he came to Lakeland at the request of Florida Southern College President Ludd Spivey to design a "great education temple in Florida." For 20 years Wright worked on his "true American campus" creation. In his original master plan he called for 18 buildings (and several other structures), 9 of which were completed and nine left on the drawing board. All of the buildings were built out of what Wright called his "textile block system," the first use of such a system in Florida. He called his project "A Child of the Sun," so named from the architect’s own description of being "out of the ground, into the light, a child of the sun." It is the largest one-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the world, and in many ways helped to form a pattern for many colleges in Florida and other areas of the country in the future years.

During World War II, Lakeland made an important contribution which directly contributed to the defeat of Hitler. Hundreds of young British men were taught to fly at Lakeland's Lodwick airfield by volunteer flight instructors, a collection of barnstormers and independent pilots. These British airmen enjoyed the hospitality of Lakeland during their training, then returned home to fight the Battle of Britain. Their skills in shooting down German warplanes was crucial to Britain's survival. When America entered the war, the Army Air Corps relied on training fields like Lodwick to supply pilots for its fighters, bombers, and transport planes.

In 1990, Lakeland made its Hollywood debut when the Southgate Shopping Center was featured in the hit movie Edward Scissorhands, starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder.

It is also mentioned near the end of the Sublime song "April 29, 1992 (Miami)" when lead singer Bradley Nowell lists the cities burning across the United States.

Lakeland made national headlines on 28 September 2006 when Polk County Sheriff's Deputy Vernon "Matt" Williams and his K-9 partner, Diogi, were shot and killed after a routine traffic stop in the Kathleen area of the town. The incident sparked outrage among the central Florida law enforcement community. More than five-hundred law officials came together in search of Angilo Freeland, the suspect wanted in connection with the murder. The next morning Freeland was found hiding under a fallen tree. 9 SWAT Team members fired 110 shots at Freeland, hitting him 68 times and killing him on the spot. "God will be his judge and jury now" said Sheriff Grady Judd[4], adding "we ran out of bullets" on Oct 1, 2006 to the Orlando Sentinel. Deputy Williams and Diogi were laid to rest on 3 October 2006 after a funeral that included a one-hour and 45 minute procession to Auburndale.[5]

Lakeland is home to one of the first Hindu temples in the United States. [citation needed] Publix Super Markets is also headquartered here. The first Red Lobster restaurant was opened here; however, the original restaurant has since closed.

Lakeland skyline, with Lake Mirror in the foreground

Geography

Lakeland is located at 28°2′28″N 81°57′32″W / 28.04111°N 81.95889°W / 28.04111; -81.95889Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (28.041248, -81.958978).Template:GR Lakeland is 141 feet above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 51.45 square miles (133.3 km2). 45.84 square miles (118.7 km2) of it is land and 5.61 square miles (14.5 km2) of it (10.90%) is water.

In July 2006, Scott Lake, one of the city's lakes, was almost totally drained by a cluster of sinkholes[6] The lake later partially refilled.[7]

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 78,452 people, 33,509 households, and 20,373 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,711.3/mi² (660.8/km²). There were 38,980 housing units at an average density of 850.3/mi² (328.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.52% White, 21.26% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.34% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.76% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.41% of the population.

There were 33,509 households out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.4% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,119, and the median income for a family was $40,468. Males had a median income of $32,137 versus $23,771 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,760. About 10.7% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

Lakeland has seen explosive growth. According to The Tampa Tribune the population in 2020 is projected to be 115,000 residents.

Media

The local newspaper is The Ledger, owned by The New York Times.

The local radio stations are:

Education

High Schools

Colleges

Other

University of South Florida currently shares a campus with PCC, but was granted autonomy by Gov. Charlie Crist to officially change the school name to the University of South Florida Polytechnic. The name change becomes effective on July 1, 2008, and the consequent construction of the 16,000-student campus begins shortly thereafter. The four-year campus will be located just inside the City of Lakeland's recently annexed northeast border.

Sports

Club League Venue Established Championships
Lakeland Flying Tigers FSL, Baseball Joker Marchant Stadium 1963 3

Attractions and points of interest

Historic districts and City Neighborhoods

Buildings and locations

Notable Lakelanders

Transportation

Sister Cities

References

  1. ^ "Florida by Place. Population, Housing, Area, and Density: 2000". US Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  2. ^ a b "Annual Estimates of the population for the Incorporated Places of Florida" (XLS). US Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  3. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006" (XLS). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  4. ^ Resume of Colonel Grady C. Judd, Jr
  5. ^ Information about Deputy Williams' funeral.
  6. ^ Diane Lacey Allen (23 June 2006). "'The Lake is Dry'". Retrieved 3007-11-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |publication= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "Florida Lake Swallowed by Sinkhole Reappearing". Associated Press. 25 July 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Template:Geolinks-US-cityscale

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lakeland,_Florida&oldid=236490647"